Not often do half the coaches in a single division enter the season with their jobs on the line … except, perhaps, in the SEC.

But that appears to be the situation in the Pac-12 South, with Arizona State’s Todd Graham, Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez and UCLA’s Jim Mora all seemingly within short range of termination.

Their collective fate is a popular topic, largely because of their parallel paths of success and regress. There’s more interest in the fate of each because of the others than there would be in a solo situation.

I’ve been asked repeatedly which of the three is on the hottest seat. That’s difficult, if not impossible to know without administering truth serum to the respective athletic directors.

But here’s what I know:

* The players are aware of the speculation; they hear it not from the media, necessarily, but from family and friends and associates … who hear it from the media.

* Once the dark clouds of dismissal begin to gather, it’s exceedingly difficult to blow them to a distant shore.

* So much uncertainty about 50 percent of the coaches in a single division creates the potential for wild occurrences in that division.

Some teams rally around a coach in jeopardy and exceed expectations.

Others can let a few losses turn the flimsy foundation into a midseason collapse.

* The opening game for UCLA (Texas A&M) and the opening weeks for the Arizona schools will be telling.

* Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke was offer the chance to give Rodriguez a strong endorsement and instead went for middle ground.

“I think people need to have a chance to show what they can do, and you’ve got to believe in people,” he said, according to Tucson.com. “But this is a results-oriented business. There is that fact of it, no question.”

* Arizona State president Michael Crow set the framework for Graham, who was5-7 last season, to keep his job.

“Losing records over more than one year in any sport are unacceptable,” Crow said, per azcentral.

“Coach Graham completely understands that his very successful start at ASU has got to be realized again.”*

* Mora’s buyout is gigantic (more than $10 million).

* Mora has the best quarterback.

* Mora is the only member of the trio working for the athletic director who hired him.

* All heat isn’t created equal.

All of which leads me to what I think:
Get Pac-12 Conference news in your inbox. Sign up for the Pac-12 Hotline newsletter.

Coach: Todd GrahamHeat index: Doesn’t get any hotter than being put on notice by the presidentComment: Needs seven wins, does not play Cal and has two non-conference non-cupcakes (San Diego State and Texas tech).

Coach: Rich RodriguezHeat index: Sidewalk on Speedway Blvd, this afternoon.Comment: It’s not the sixth-place finish in 2016 that’s the problem. It’s the sixth-place finish fresh off the fifth-place finish.

Coach: Jim MoraHeat index: Uncomfortable, but shade is within reachComment: Will get the benefit of the doubt for a variety of reasons. And if he can’t climb to the level warranting that sentiment, then it will be obvious.
For more Pac-12 coveragefollow Pac-12 Hotline on Flipboard.

Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.

More in College Sports

Before the first Pac-12 game of the NCAA Tournament tips off this evening (Arizona State vs. St. John's), let’s address the scoreboard that matters most to the nine teams not involved in March Madness.

Brian Bennett, formerly of ESPN and currently a contributor to The Athletic — he authors the site’s bracketology feature — writes a weekly Pac-12 basketball column for the Hotline. I was asked on a couple of radio shows this week if there’s anything the Pac-12 could do to redeem itself in this NCAA tournament. The short answer: not really. Sure,...

When state legislators grilled University of California staff about the university’s response to the recent college admissions scandal, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty asked the question that’s been reverberating since the story broke last week. “How do we reassure the public that the system is not totally rigged?”